Drill Core Library
The Geological Survey of Victoria’s (GSV) Drill Core Library (DCL) contains over 13,000 bores, wells and drill holes representing approximately 1.5 million metres of drill core/cuttings from across Victoria.
Located in Werribee on Bunurong Country, the growing collection is an invaluable geoscientific asset. It allows rock and mineral samples to be studied and re-analysed at no or minimal extra cost and with no impact on the earth.
Drill core is an important asset for exploration in Victoria because it can:
- improve exploration targeting and reduce risk for minerals, energy and extractive projects
- improve groundwater modelling and evaluation for government, industry and the community
- reduce the cost and risk for government and the construction industry by centralising and preserving geotechnical/infrastructure drilling
- enable applied geoscience research and the generation of new data and knowledge by government, industry and universities.
Samples that are available at the Drill Core Library
The collection includes samples from:
- minerals drill holes
- petroleum wells
- groundwater bores
- government stratigraphic and co-funded industry drilling
- geotechnical/infrastructure drilling
- extractive drill holes
- coal bore holes
- geothermal drill holes
- rock samples from government mapping programs
- hardcopy reports and maps.
Under legislation, drilling samples are kept confidential until their release for public viewing. Only samples considered open file are accessible for viewing.
Finding a specific sample and associated data
The contents of the Drill Core Library are constantly being updated as new drill holes arrive. Use the GeoVic mapping tool to view the locations of drill holes, bores and wells with representative samples available for viewing and sampling.
Reports, drilling data, photos and other geoscience data are available via GeoVic and the Search Assistant.
Resources
Visiting us
Public visits are available by appointment only, which can be arranged by contacting the GSV Drill Core Library team by emailing gsv.drillcorelibrary@deeca.vic.gov.au. If you intend to view or sample core, please attach to your email a completed DCL visit information request form below to help determine a suitable time for your visit.
Accessibility
The Drill Core Library is a wheelchair accessible facility. There are no stairs at the entrance or throughout the facility. An accessible toilet is available onsite.
Please note that the sample examination area is not heated or air-conditioned so please dress accordingly. Enclosed footwear is required. Hi-vis clothing and steel-toe work boots are recommended but not mandatory. High-vis vests are available for wear if a forklift is operational during your visit.
Sampling
The GSV has strict guidelines in place to manage the sampling of drill core and cuttings, and require any data collected on site to be reported back to the Drill Core Library within 6 months of your visit. For more information regarding sampling limits and data reporting, please refer to the minerals and energy sampling agreements below.
Sample Donations
Minerals
The GSV collects representative samples from mineral exploration conducted under the Minerals Resources (Sustainable Development) Act . Due to intake limitations, materials offered to the DCL require careful assessment and selection. As a result, organisations wishing to donate samples must make a submission request to allow assessment of the offered materials. Please refer to our sample submission guide below for more information on the donation process.
Petroleum
The GSV actively collects petroleum core and cuttings in accordance with the requirements of the relevant petroleum acts and petroleum submerged lands acts.
Rock specimens from offshore drilling beyond the three nautical mile zone, for instance in Commonwealth Waters, have been moved to National Offshore Petroleum Data and Core Repository, operated by Geoscience Australia. These are no longer accepted by the GSV Drill Core Library. Gas samples are also not accepted and must be donated to The Repository.
To organise delivery of your samples, please complete the submission request form provided below and email to gsv.drillcorelibrary@deeca.vic.gov.au.
Geotechnical
The DCL is currently only accepting cored samples from infrastructure drilling projects. Soil samples and other “soft samples” are currently not being accepted by the DCL. Due to intake limitations, materials offered to the DCL require careful assessment and selection. As a result, organisations wishing to donate samples must make a Submission Request to allow assessment of the offered materials. Please refer to our Sample Submission Guide below for information on the donation process.
Location
The Drill Core Library is located at 18 South Road, Werribee, about 40 minutes’ drive from Melbourne's CBD.
Page last updated: 20 Jan 2025